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#5 Wu Assassins

Wu Assassins takes place in San Francisco’s Chinatown. There is a large population of Chinese people all around San Francisco, not just in Chinatown but for audiences not familiar with San Francisco, this is a convenient location for the show to be set. The opening of the first episode is reminiscent of old school Chinese kung fu movies (something along the lines of  Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ). The fight scene is focused around martial arts rather than shooting guns. It also takes on the vibe of old school Chinese kung fu movies by incorporating spiritual beliefs about Earth elements. Our protagonist, Kai, at one point in the episode, is presented the power of 1,000 monks. These 1,000 monks once sacrificed themselves to stop the corrupted warlords way back when. When Kai is confronted by these monks, the alley way he is in shifts and he is transported into a mystical world. The mystical world plays on traditional legends that are a part of Chinese culture. As the episode con
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#4 Mob Mentality v. Mob Mentality (yay homographic puns) ((haha NeRD))

One way in which "Last Exit to Springfield" satirizes workers and unions is when Homer's union meets to vote on the new contract. It is announced that the contract is basically the same deal except in exchange for the dental plan, the workers get a free keg of beer at their meetings. The scene implies that union workers lack of common sense and are easily bought because they do not think about long term issues or prioritize important things. Another way in which unions are satirized at the beginning of the meeting is when Lenny mentions that their union president, who was earlier shown to be playing football on TV, has not been seen since he had last promised to clean up the union which could indicate that union representatives do not really care about the workers in the union. The workers are also satirized by their physical appearances. Homer points out that one guy would not have been able to get his tooth gem without a dental plan and at the same time another worker

#3 White Picket Fences

It has always been awkward for me to identify what social or economic class my family and I belong to. Most of my life I’ve lived in an affluent part of the Bay Area and for nine years of my childhood I attended private school. Although I consider my parents to have achieved the American Dream, I know that it has not been without struggle and hard work to get through the obstacles they've had to (and the obstacles they face on a daily basis). On the surface level many people would consider me the sit at the higher end of upper- middle class, but I’ve never felt comfortable with that label. Even though I lived around and went to school with people of wealth I never considered myself one of them. My parents do well enough for themselves that they have the luxury of being able to dine at nice places, go to events, and splurge here or there, but because of their immigrant background, they have never been ones to spend frivolously. My parents are nail technicians for a living. Na

#2 Marxist Psychic?

In a Marxist analysis of Psych , the Santa Barbara Police Department represents the bourgeoisie while Shawn Spencer represents the proletariat. It is mentioned in the pilot episode that Shawn has worked 57 jobs since graduating high school and that employment at any one of those jobs did not last long. Obviously Shawn, like Marx, finds that work is alienating. None of the jobs he had make him feel as if he is contributing something of importance to his community. They were simply jobs to get by or to enjoy while the novelty of the work lasted. Most of these jobs didn’t require any real skill so Shawn was easily bored of them. The ones that required more expert knowledge or prior experience, he failed at. Even after going through 57 different jobs, Shawn still wants to find a job or career that is more fulfilling to him. He is bored of the status quo of the system and is looking for something that will not only make him money, but also bring him happiness and self worth.  One way

#1 Parks and Privilege

One of my favorite shows to watch is Parks and Recreation . It follows the life of devoted civil servant Leslie Knope, who works for Pawnee Parks Department, and her coworkers. Although Parks and Recreation depicts Leslie as a strong woman in government fighting for her voice to be heard, the show itself still normalizes the power structures that are the established in American government. Leslie is often faced with obstacles when trying to convince the councilmen of Pawnee to get on board with new policy. Leslie is outnumbered four to one by men on the city council. This supports the imbalance of power between genders in the workplace and in society. Even when it makes sense to change city laws to improve the quality of life for citizens, the men like to vote down Leslie's ideas just to spite her as a woman. Each of the councilmen represent unequal distribution of power and the ways it is normalized. Councilman Milton is an old, practically senile man who gets away with maki